OGC Nice forward Allan Saint-Maximin is expecting to travel to Tyneside this weekend to undergo a medical with Newcastle United, according to Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie.
The reporter claimed via his personal Twitter account on Thursday evening that the Magpie are close to striking an agreement with the 22-year-old Frenchman.
It is understood that the fee is £16.5million and could potentially rise to £20million.
OPINION
Newcastle are getting close to signing Saint-Maximin, who should be a good addition to their attack ahead of the start of next season. It is interesting to see where exactly Steve Bruce plans to play the former Saint-Etienne player because last season saw him play on both wings, as a number 10 and as a centre-forward for Nice. Saint-Maximin managed to score goals whether he played in the middle or out wide, so it is not really clear where exactly his best position is. It may be that the Frenchman is seen as a replacement for Ayoze Perez, who is now at Leicester. Perez played just behind Salomon Rondon last term, so Saint-Maximin could do that behind Joelinton under Bruce, with Miguel Almiron and Matt Ritchie providing support around them. Once this deal goes through, it will be interesting to see how much more money Mike Ashley is going to let Bruce spend on new players.
